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In this message we shall begin to consider the final aspect of the status of the church — the church as the golden lampstands.
One of the crucial symbols in the Bible is that of the lampstands. Revelation 1:12 says, “I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and having turned I saw seven golden lampstands.” Revelation 1:20b explains that “the seven lampstands are seven churches.” The church, therefore, is signified by a golden lampstand.
In the Bible the lampstand is always related to God’s building. The first time it was mentioned was in Exodus 25:31-40 when the tabernacle was built. The second instance was in the building of the temple in 1 Kings 7:49. The third instance had very much to do with the rebuilding of God’s temple in Zechariah 4:2-10. In Revelation 1 the lampstand is related to the building of the churches. In Exodus 25 the emphasis is on Christ being the lampstand as the divine light, shining as the seven lamps with the Spirit (the oil). In Zechariah 4 the emphasis is on the Spirit (v. 6) shining as the seven lamps which are the eyes of Jehovah (vv. 2, 10). The seven eyes of Jehovah are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 5:6) for God’s intensified move. This indicates that the lampstand in Zechariah is the reality of the lampstand in Exodus, and the lampstands in Revelation are the reproduction of the lampstand in Zechariah. Christ is realized as the Spirit, and the Spirit is expressed as the churches. The shining Spirit is the reality of the shining Christ, and the shining churches are the reproduction and expression of the shining Spirit to accomplish God’s eternal purpose that the New Jerusalem as the shining city may be consummated.
The revelation concerning the golden lampstand is found in Exodus, Zechariah, and Revelation. In Exodus the lampstand signifies Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God. In Zechariah the lampstand signifies the nation of Israel as God’s testimony. In Revelation the lampstands signify the church as God’s living embodiment for the testimony of Jesus. Hence, the lampstand is a symbol of Christ, the nation of Israel, and the church. Furthermore, as we shall see, the lampstand signifies the embodiment of the Triune God. With Christ, with Israel, and with the church the golden lampstand is a portrayal of the embodiment of the Triune God.
The lampstand in Exodus 25 typifies Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God. As a type of Christ, the lampstand portrays Christ as the resurrection life growing, branching, budding, and blossoming to shine the light. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God. God is in Him, and apart from Him no one can find God.
With the lampstand as a type of Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God, there are three important things: the gold, the stand, and the lamps. These three matters imply the significance of the Triune God. Gold is the substance with which the lampstand is made, the stand is the embodiment of the gold, and the lamps are the expression of the stand.
According to Exodus 25:31, the lampstand was made of pure gold. Gold was the substance, the element, of the lampstand in its entirety. In typology, gold signifies the divine nature, the nature of God the Father. If we consider this substance, this element, of the lampstand, we shall see that it signifies the divine nature. Therefore, by this we can see God the Father, the One whose nature is the substance of the lampstand. The golden lampstand exists in the nature of God the Father.
Gold is the unique material used for making the golden lampstand. Gold is the substance, the material, of the lampstand. Every material has a substance, and every substance has an essence as its intrinsic nature. The intrinsic nature of a substance is its essence. Gold is the substance of the lampstand, and within the gold there is an intrinsic nature, which is its essence. According to typology, this signifies the divine nature, the nature of God, in which is the essence of the divine Being.
God the Father is signified by the gold with which the lampstand was made. Hence, with the gold we see the first of the divine Trinity, the Father.
In Exodus 25 the lampstand made of pure gold had a definite form or shape. The form of the golden lampstand signifies the Son as the embodiment of the Godhead in His humanity (Col. 2:9). Hence, the form, the shape, of the lampstand signifies the second of the Trinity, the Son.
God the Father is invisible and abstract. God the Son is the embodiment of this invisible One. The stand is a form signifying God the Son as the embodiment of God the Father. This solid form of the lampstand is the embodiment of the gold. According to the New Testament, God the Father is embodied in God the Son. Therefore, in the lampstand we have the substance signifying the Father, and the solid form signifying the Son.
The gold of the lampstand was made into a prescribed form, which indicated its function. This form is Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). When God created man, He created him in His image (Gen. 1:26). Since Christ is God’s image, man was created according to Christ. God does not have a physical form, but He does have an expression of His image. Christ, the beloved Son, is the image of the invisible God. The function of this image, this form, is to express God. “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18).
Exodus 25:37 says, “Thou shalt make its lamps, seven.” These seven lamps signify God the Spirit being the seven Spirits of God for His expression (Rev. 4:5; 5:6). The shining of the lamps denotes expression. Thus, the seven lamps are the expression of God the Son as the embodiment of God the Father. The gold signifies the Father as the substance, the stand signifies the Son as the embodiment of the Father, and the lamps signify the Spirit as the expression of the Father in the Son. Thus, the significance of the Triune God is implied in the lampstand.
Substantially the lampstand is one, but expressively it is seven, because it is one lampstand with seven lamps. In substance the lampstand is one piece of gold, but it holds seven lamps. This indicates that, mysteriously, in substance the Triune God is one but in expression He is the seven Spirits. The Father as the substance is embodied in the Son as the form, and the Son is expressed as the seven Spirits.
We can prove from the Scriptures that the seven lamps of the golden lampstand signify the Spirit expressing Christ. If we had only the record in Exodus, it would be difficult to realize that these seven lamps are the Spirit. But as we proceed from Exodus to Zechariah, we see that the seven lamps are the seven eyes of Christ, the seven eyes of Jehovah (Zech. 3:9; 4:10). As we continue to Revelation, we see that the seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven eyes which are the intensified Spirit of God (Rev. 5:6). Hence, we have a strong basis for saying that the seven lamps are the seven Spirits, that is, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, as the expression of Christ.
The seven lamps of the lampstand signify the seven Spirits of God to express the Triune God. Revelation 4:5b says, “Seven lamps of fire are burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” If we consider Revelation 1:4 and 5, we shall realize that the seven Spirits are undoubtedly the Spirit of God, because they are ranked among the Triune God. As seven is the number for completion in God’s operation, so the seven Spirits must be for God’s move on earth. In substance and existence God’s Spirit is one; in the intensified function and work of God’s operation God’s Spirit is sevenfold.
Essentially the Spirit is one, but economically He is seven. In God’s economy and in His function, He becomes the sevenfold intensified Spirit. In Revelation it is not a matter of essence but a matter of function, of economy. Economically speaking, the Spirit is intensified sevenfold. In substance and existence God’s Spirit is one, but in the intensified function and work of God’s operation, God’s Spirit is sevenfold.
In Revelation 4:5 the seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God, signify the enlightening and searching of the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God. God will touch the earth by the seven lamps, by His seven Spirits, which are for burning, shining, observing, searching, and judging. The seven lamps here refer to the seven lamps of the lampstand in Exodus 25:37 and Zechariah 4:2. In Exodus 25 and Zechariah 4 the seven lamps, signifying the enlightening of the Spirit of God in God’s move, are for God’s building. In Revelation 4:5 the seven lamps are for God’s judgment, which will issue in the building of the New Jerusalem. While God executes His judgment, His sevenfold intensified Spirit will carry out His eternal building by searching, enlightening, and judging.
The enlightening, searching, exposing, judging, and burning of the seven lamps of fire are for the carrying out of God’s administration. Today God is administrating His government by means of this enlightening, searching, exposing, judging, and burning. Anything that does not correspond to God’s nature will be burned by His fire. This burning is the carrying out of God’s administration.
Although the seven enlightening, searching, exposing, judging, and burning lamps will burn all that does not correspond to God, they will refine those things that are truly according to His nature. The dross will go to the lake of fire, but the refined gold will go to the New Jerusalem. Even now the seven Spirits as the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God are burning, refining, and purifying for the carrying out of God’s universal governmental administration.
The seven lamps also signify the Spirit as the seven eyes of the Son to express the Son as the embodiment of the Triune God (Rev. 5:6; 3:1). Revelation 5:6 says, “I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.” The seven lamps in 4:5 are simultaneously the seven eyes of the Lamb in 5:6. The lamps are for enlightening and burning; the eyes are for watching and observing and also for infusing and transfusing. As the redeeming Lamb, Christ has seven watching and observing eyes for the carrying out of God’s administration. These seven eyes are also transfusing all that the Lamb is into our being so that we may become the same as He. This indicates that the way for us to be transformed is to come to Him and be seen by Him. As the Lord enlightens and judges us, He looks at us, and His seven eyes transfuse Himself into us.
Economically speaking, the Spirit of God in God’s administration is the eyes of the administrating Son, the seven Spirits. This is for function, not for existence. In order for us to do anything, we need our eyes. In the divine administration Christ needs the Spirit to be His eyes. Without the seven Spirits, Christ does not have eyes. Christ is the Executor of God’s economy; nevertheless, He needs the seven Spirits as His eyes to carry out God’s economy.
We need to be impressed with the fact that the golden lampstand in Exodus 25 implies the significance of the Triune God; it symbolizes the Triune God embodied and expressed. God the Father as the divine gold is embodied in Christ the Son and then is fully expressed through the Spirit. The expression differs from the embodiment. Because our God is uniquely one, the embodiment also must be uniquely one. Thus, the embodiment must be one stand. The expression, however, must be complete, and complete in God’s move. (Recall that seven is the number for completion in God’s move.) Throughout the centuries, God has been expressed in His move. This is the reason that the seven lamps signify the intensified Spirit as the expression of Christ in God’s complete move.
It is significant that in Revelation 5:6 the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of Christ, the Lamb. A person’s eyes cannot be separated from the person himself, for a person’s eyes are his expression. Our inner being is expressed mainly through our eyes. In like manner, the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of Christ by which Christ expresses Himself. As a person and his eyes are one, so Christ and the Spirit are one. Therefore, it is a mistake to say that the Spirit is separate from Christ. Since the seven Spirits are the Holy Spirit and also the eyes of Christ, then the Holy Spirit, who is the seven Spirits, is not separate from Christ. The Son is the embodiment of the Father, and the Spirit is the expression of the Son. The seven eyes of Christ, which are the seven Spirits of God, are Christ’s expression in God’s move for God’s building. Today Christ’s eyes are upon us so that we can be transformed and conformed to His image for God’s building.
As we consider the substance, the shape, and the expression of the golden lampstand as implying the significance of the Triune God, we gain a practical understanding of the Trinity. The Trinity is for the dispensing of the processed Triune God into humanity for the fulfillment of God’s purpose to have a corporate expression of Himself for eternity. God, the divine Being, is first embodied in Christ and then expressed through the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Now we not only have the Triune God; in the lampstand we have the Triune God substantially and solidly embodied and expressed. The gold has been formed into the solid stand for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Without the stand, there is no way for God’s purpose to be fulfilled. This stand, which is a type of Christ, is expressed through the seven lamps signifying the seven Spirits of God. The golden lampstand, then, signifies the Triune God embodied and expressed. Its essence is the Father, its form is the Son, and its expression is the Spirit. Because we have in the lampstand the element of gold signifying God the Father, the stand signifying God the Son, and the seven lamps signifying God the Spirit, we have the ground to say that the lampstand itself is the embodiment and expression of the Triune God.
Eventually, in the book of Revelation the lampstand becomes the church. If we realize this, our understanding of the church will be deepened and enriched. The church is actually the expression of the processed Triune God. In this expression we see the Father’s nature, the Son’s embodiment, and the Spirit’s expression. In the proper church life, God the Father is the substance, God the Son is the embodiment, and God the Spirit is the expression.
In Exodus 25 the lampstand signifies Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God, but in Revelation the golden lampstands signify the churches. This indicates that the unique Christ has been reproduced, that the one lampstand has become seven lampstands. In Exodus 25 we have the masterpiece, but in Revelation 1 we have the masterpiece reproduced and multiplied. At first God’s expression was only in Christ as the lampstand. Now this expression has been reproduced in the churches as golden lampstands. From this we see that Christ has been reproduced. The church is actually the reproduction of Christ. Both Christ and the church are the expression of the Triune God. It is a marvelous fact that in the church as the golden lampstand today we have the nature of the Father, the embodiment of the Son, and the expression of the Spirit.
